Nets-Grizzlies Preview

By PAUL DIGIACOMOPosted Jan 24 2013 10:38PM

The Brooklyn Nets got off to the best start in franchise history before a disastrous 26-day span in December cost coach Avery Johnson his job. With P.J. Carlesimo now patrolling the sideline, the Nets are back to their early season form.

Brooklyn looks to win for the 13th time in 15 games since Carlesimo was named interim coach as it continues a four-game road trip Friday night with a matchup against the defensive-minded Memphis Grizzlies.

The Nets were excited after opening with 11 wins in 15 contests and seeing Johnson named Eastern Conference coach of the month for November, but a 3-10 stretch last month was enough for Brooklyn to make a change.

Carlesimo has re-energized the Nets, who improved to 12-2 under him following Wednesday's 91-83 victory at Minnesota. Brooklyn (26-16), which trails first-place New York by one game in the Atlantic Division, has held opponents to an average of 85.7 points during a three-game win streak.

The Nets also moved to 9-1 when they go with a starting lineup of Brook Lopez - the NBA's highest-scoring center at 18.6 points per game - guards Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, and forwards Gerald Wallace and Reggie Evans. Williams and Johnson scored 18 points apiece against the Timberwolves.

"We just have a number of great guys who are very talented individually, and we're just playing well together," said Lopez, who had a game-high 22 points. "That's the best part."

But even with the Nets playing well under Carlesimo, they still have some areas needing improvement. They are averaging 91.0 points and 17.3 turnovers while shooting 42.2 percent during the three-game run.

"We're grateful for the win, but hopefully we realize we need to play a little more consistently than we did (Wednesday)," said Carlesimo, whose team has won five of six away from home.

Brooklyn may not be able to get on track offensively against Memphis (27-14).

The Grizzlies are among the NBA leaders in opponent field goal percentage (43.5) and scoring defense (89.5), and those numbers are even better recently.

Memphis is allowing teams to average 81.5 points while holding them to 40.1 percent shooting in winning three of four following a three-game skid in which it gave up 102.0 points per game and opponents shot 50.9 percent.

But like Brooklyn, the Grizzlies have struggled on the offensive end. They went six straight games without topping 85 points before beating the Los Angeles Lakers 106-93 on Wednesday.

Memphis played for the first time since trading reserves Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby to Cleveland on Tuesday for Jon Leuer, a move made to clear about $6 million in salary and get the team under the luxury tax threshold this season.

The Grizzlies dressed only 10 players, and Darrell Arthur provided a spark by scoring a season-high 20 points and tying his season best with nine rebounds in nearly 28 minutes off the bench.

"When we are faced with adversity, we show that we can win," starting guard Tony Allen said. "When adversity comes, when guys get hurt, we pull together."

Memphis avoided a third straight loss in this series with a 105-100 road win last Feb. 15, getting 94 points from its starters.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Grizzlies build early lead and defeat Nets 101-77

By CLAY BAILEYPosted Jan 26 2013 12:20AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies are adding a better scoring offense to complement one of the league's best defenses.

Marc Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds as the Grizzlies built a 30-point lead in the second half en route to a 101-77 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.

Gasol was 10 of 15 from the field, all of his points coming in the first half, as Memphis, which had seven players in double figures, won for the fourth time in the past five games.

It also marked the second straight game Memphis has topped the century mark after reaching 100 only twice in the 24 games before Wednesday's 106-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

"One thing that we have had all season is our defense," said Rudy Gay, one of three Grizzlies who finished with 11 points.

"We're defending teams and getting turnovers. That makes it easier for us to score on offense, but we're not forced to score each time in the half court set because we get so many points off the fast break."

Mike Conley made six of seven shots, including 2 of 3 outside the arc, for 14 points, while Zach Randolph had 12 points and matched Gasol's nine rebounds.

Wroten, Bayless and Johnson's contribution were part of the Memphis bench, a troublesome spot at times this season, outscoring the Nets reserves 38-24.

"The bench has been great," said Randolph, the day after he was selected as a Western Conference reserve for the All-Star game. "For us to win, we need our bench. They understand that. The way they've been playing has been great. They've been stepping up."

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 18 points, while Deron Williams scored 12, adding six assists before leaving late in the third quarter with a quad contusion.

Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said Williams could have returned, but there was no need because of the Memphis lead.

"It just seemed like more sense to let the (reserves) finish it out," Carlesimo said.

Brooklyn's starting backcourt of Williams and Johnson both were 4 of 10 from the field, part of the Nets shooting 41 percent.

"They just came out and played better than us," Williams said. "They played tougher than us. They outrebounded us and out-toughed us. .This is a game where we didn't come out and play the way we were supposed to play."

Memphis' dominance on the inside was set early and continued through the game. The Grizzlies held a 62-40 advantage in the paint and outrebounded Brooklyn 45-37. The 62 points in the paint were a season high for the Grizzlies.

Memphis had 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 27 second-chance points.

"We didn't match (the Grizzlies) physicality or aggressiveness on defense, especially their aggressiveness on the boards in the first half," Carlesimo said. "That was the game."

Memphis, which is second in the league in allowing 89.5 points a game, played one of its best halves of the season in carrying a 67-44 lead into the break. Gasol had 20 points, while Randolph had scored 12 in the first two quarters.

The 67 points were the most scored by the Grizzlies in a half this season.

Memphis connected on 60 percent of its first-half shots as it worked the offense through Gasol early, and the Grizzlies center was 10 of 15 from the field in the first two quarters.

"Our game plan early was to get Marc being aggressive and getting him some scoring opportunities," Conley said. "Marc did a great job of taking advantage of it.

"... We did as much as we could to help Marc both offensively and defensively, and I think as a team we all played off of each other well. We were able to take advantage of things that Marc was opening up for us because of his aggressiveness early."

The lead got to as many as 25 points before intermission.

The Nets, who have had trouble handling the ball recently, committed only five turnovers in the first half, but shot 43 percent from the field, not near enough to keep pace with the Grizzlies.

"We think we're a better team than we showed in the first half," Carlesimo said. "Actually, I thought in the second half, we did a good job. We competed on the boards, and we defended really well, but we dug too big of a hole."

He later added: "We got beat up is what we did. They just took it to us."

Memphis extended the lead to 30 in the early stages of the second half, but the Nets had a 13-3 run to get their deficit to 79-59.

Memphis could not maintain its shooting touch from the first half, and turnovers were hurting as Memphis had four miscues in the period.

Memphis held an 85-67 lead after three quarters, despite being outscored 23-18 in the period.

The Nets actually could have cut into the lead at the start of the fourth as Memphis continued to commit turnovers, missed its first two shots and was scoreless through almost 3 minutes.

Problem was, Brooklyn also was scoreless during the span, missing its first six shots to start the fourth. In the end, Memphis outscored the Nets 16-10 in the fourth.

"They turned it off, and it really didn't matter," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "We only scored 34 points in the second half, but the first half is where we won the game."

NOTES: Grizzlies F Jon Leuer, obtained earlier in the week from Cleveland, dressed for his first game with Memphis and played 2 minutes without scoring. ... The Grizzlies' previous high for a half this season was 62 points in the second half at Sacramento on Jan. 7. ... The Nets are 12-3 since P.J. Carlesimo became interim coach, all three losses coming on the road, each by double digits. ... The Grizzlies are 13-0 when scoring 100 points, 5-1 when shooting 50 percent and 20-2 when outshooting their opponents. ... The Nets' four-game road trip ends Saturday night in Houston. ... The Grizzlies made 47 field goals matching their season high in that category. ... Evans with 11 points and 10 rebounds recorded his first double-double of the season.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Grizzlies 101, Nets 77

THE FACTS: The Memphis Grizzlies figured Brooklyn would be ready to defend the post-up moves of center Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. So instead, they turned to their pick-and-roll offense, something the Nets had a difficult time containing, particularly in the first half. Gasol had his way with 20 points, all coming in the first half, as the Grizzlies led by as many as 30 before cruising to a 101-77 win, their fourth in the last five games.

QUOTABLE: "We're a whole different team when we move the ball. We did a pretty good job in the first half of moving the ball. ... We knew what was there. They wanted to show on the pick and roll and that created mismatches inside." -- Marc Gasol

THE STAT: The Grizzlies have topped the 100-point mark in back-to-back games after doing so just once in their previous 27 games. Overall, they are 13-0 this season when scoring 100 points.

TURNING POINT: Trailing 42-33 with 7:24 left in the second quarter, Brooklyn went scoreless for three minutes, during which time the Grizzlies went on an 11-0 run to build a 20-point cushion. From there, the Nets never got closer than 18.

HOT: Gasol came out blazing, scoring eight of the Grizzlies first 10 points. He made 10 of his 14 shot attempts in the first half while also hauling in seven of his nine boards by halftime.

NOT: Before the game, Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said he thought his backcourt of Joe Johnson and Deron Williams were worthy of being All-Stars. They didn't show it Friday. Both guards were 4-for-10 from the floor with Williams scoring 12 points and Johnson 11.

NOTABLE: Since being blown out by Dallas, the L.A. Clippers and San Antonio, the Grizzlies have won four of their last five games, with their only loss being a one-point setback to Indiana on Monday. ... The Grizzlies scored 32 points in the first quarter and 35 in the second, thanks to 60 percent shooting. In the second half, the offense got stagnant after opening a 30-point lead. They managed to score just 18 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth, however, still shooting 52 percent for the game. Fortunately, their defense remained stingy as the Nets scored just 10 points in the final quarter and shot just 40.8 percent for the game. ... In the two games since trading away Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby, the Grizzlies bench has become more potent. After scoring 43 points against the L.A. Lakers Wednesday, the Grizzlies bench totaled 38 points against Brooklyn. Jerryd Bayless and rookie Tony Wroten each scored 11, while Chris Johnson, who is currently on a 10-day contract from the NBA D-League, had 10. Bayless also had eight assists. ... Forward Reggie Evans made his presence felt in the second half when he scored eight of his 11 points, giving him a double-double with 10 rebounds. ... Newly crowned All-Star Zach Randolph, the NBA leader in double-double, fell one rebound shy of adding to his total with 12 points and nine boards. Randolph, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2011, became the first Memphis player to become a two-time All-Star. ... The Grizzlies outscored the Nets 62-40 in the paint, and held a 27-10 advantage in second-chance points. ... The loss was just the third in 15 games since Carlesimo took over the Nets' coaching duties when Avery Johnson was fired. ... Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay played in his 477th game for Memphis, surpassing Pau Gasol as the franchise leader in games played.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Saturday at Houston, Monday vs. Orlando, Wednesday vs. Miami. For the Grizzlies, Sunday vs. New Orleans, Monday at Philadelphia, Thursday at Oklahoma City.